The story is told about a teacher who was discussing honesty with his students using the anecdote about George Washington admitting to his father that it was he who had cut the cherry tree. “Do you know why George Washington’s father did not punish him for cutting the tree?” the teacher asked the class. Silence. After a while, a student raised his hand and said: “Sir, maybe because he was holding the axe?”
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In today’s gospel (Lk. 16, 1-13), Jesus teaches His disciples to be trustworthy and honest even in small matters, and especially in money matters. For Jesus, honesty is not just a matter of character and values. For
Jesus, honesty is a matter of a choice between mammon and God Himself. Is money your god, or is God your God? Jesus tells us: Choose God, and serve God!
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And so it is that there are some people who claim they love God, and yet continue to lie, steal, and get involved in drugs, smuggling, and corruption. They even make big donations to the Church and to charitable religious and civic organizations, so as to deodorize their wrongdoing. The bottom line is that we cannot manipulate God. Either we serve Him, or we don’t. We can get away with “money laundering” with the law, but definitely, not with God.
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Sometimes what we do is to throw a piece of meat to a dog that is barking in order to silence it. We can do that to dogs. Some of us even do that to people. But we cannot silence or bribe God. Everyone else can be manipulated, but not, and never, God.
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Remember the story about an architect who was commissioned to build a dream house before his retirement from the company? As he was to retire in a year’s time, the evil one tempted him into cutting corners and making a substandard house, so as to make some money on the side. When the house was completed, the company president called the architect and delivered a surprise: “The dream house you just built is the company’s parting gift to you!” Indeed, when we cheat others, we actually cheat ourselves.
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We can learn much about honesty from our Asian neighbor Japan, a non-Christian country. For the Japanese, honesty is about self-honor and dignity, and is something that is not imposed from outside but comes from within. For them, being honest is something one decides to be, whether one gets rewarded or not.
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The martyrs of Nagasaki in Japan remind us to choose God above all. The hidden Japanese Christians were persecuted, tortured, and even put to cruel death, but they chose God over freedom, privileges, and comfort. They were ordered to reject their faith and to step on holy images, but many of them chose to die for their faith. Is our faith a big factor in our lives, in our relationships, in our decisions? Or is our faith just a decoration, a put-on, an asset for our personal agenda? Just asking.
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“There is no substitute for hard and honest work.” How true. Someone once said that service is our rent for being in this world. In short, anyone, and each one of us, who has gone through this world must have made it a better place to live in. Hard and honest work makes our earthly sojourn meaningful and pleasing to God Himself, and there are also the confidence and self-worth it gives us.
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In all the 36 years of my priestly ministry, I have never seen a person lying in state wearing a wristwatch—or eyeglasses, for that matter, or even a ballpen in a pocket. This is a clear reminder that we will carry nothing with us when our time comes, when our earthly work is done, and when our eyes have finally closed, never to open again until we come face to face with our God in eternity, when He will ask each one of us: What work, what goodness, have you done? I pray that when the time comes, we will have little or no regret that we loved and served Him too late, or too little, for the simple reason that we loved ourselves, and money, more than Him.
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Think about this: Do not depend so much on anyone in this world. People come and go; even your own shadow will leave you when you are in darkness. Always depend on God for only He is truly dependable.”
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Bantay Matanda invites you to a lay forum on “Basic Home Care Tips” at the Tuklong ni San Jose in Christ the King Seminary, E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Quezon City, on Sept. 24, 9 a.m.-12 noon. For inquiries, please call 373-2262; 998-2548; 0917-4167849.
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A moment with the Lord:
Lord, remind us and help us to value honesty, and to become trustworthy. Amen.